The University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team is in desperate need of a win against Michigan State University at home Wednesday if they want to restore a shred of momentum in the Big Ten.
The Badgers (5-14, 0-6 Big Ten) return to Madison on a six-game losing streak.
Wisconsin’s most recent blunders came on the road last week at Pennsylvania State University and Ohio State University, dropping early leads to fall 76-46 and 70-61, respectively. Despite the disappointment of losing their sixth straight game in conference, the impact of the nine-point loss to the Buckeyes was more promising than negative as the Badgers competed the entire game for the first time in the new year.
Women’s basketball: Badgers hope to slow down one of the best in Big Ten at OSU
The struggles for head coach Jonathan Tsipis and Wisconsin are a result of offensive inefficiency in the second half and an inexperienced roster that is still adjusting to a difficult Big Ten. Even with a stronger start at the beginning of the season, the Badgers average just around 14 points in the third quarter as of late and will need to address that concern quickly if they want to compete down the stretch against the Spartans Wednesday.
As for MSU (13-7, 3-4 Big Ten), they are also using their matchup with UW as an opportunity to regain traction in the Big Ten. Sitting just one game out of fourth in the conference, every road game counts and the Spartans need to stop the bleeding of their own in Madison as they have dropped three-in-a-row to Rutgers University, Northwestern University and Purdue University.
Unlike Wisconsin, Michigan State has shown it has the ability to score big on any night of the week, but needs to do so in order to get wins. The Spartans have not won in-conference without scoring at least 71 points and were able to put up 93 and 94 in victories against Nebraska University and Ohio State, handing the Buckeyes their only loss in the Big Ten.
Women’s basketball: Despite strong start, UW falls short to PSU
Unlike Wisconsin, Michigan State has shown it has the ability to score big on any night of the week, but needs to do so in order to get wins. The Spartans have not won in-conference without scoring at least 71 points and were able to put up 93 and 94 in victories against Nebraska University and Ohio State, handing the Buckeyes their only loss in the Big Ten.
On paper, the Spartans carry the advantage Wednesday as they rank second in the Big Ten in three-point FG percentage defense and fourth in three-point FG percentage on offense. Those rankings certainly don’t help when it’s taken into account that the Badgers offense relays almost solely on the deep shooting ability of their young squad.
With the speed of Michigan State, Wisconsin will need to slow down the pace of play and hope to remain consistent on offense throughout the contest, making the Spartans play in the half court. No game is easy in the Big Ten on the road and the two squads are in for a slugfest at the Kohl Center.
The game tips off at 7 p.m. CT and will air on BTN Plus.
